XBMC on Android may soon be coming to a set-top box near you

Ars talks with the project devs, learns about the project's future plans.

Set-top boxes are everywhere these days. Companies like Apple, Roku, and Boxee all have their own devices for streaming video to your television with just an Internet connection. But what if you didn't need to purchase that little device to get all of your content? What if you could just repurpose an old Android device? The team at XBMC has been working furiously to make all of this possible, and their hard work could usher in a new wave of open source set-top boxes for all.

The rumor had surfaced earlier this summer that the already open source XBMC application would eventually make its way to Android, and it has finally come true. XBMC has been long available for a variety of platforms, including OS X, the Apple TV, and even Windows, but this is the first time the team has managed to launch an Android-compatible version. Currently, XBMC supports most common video and image files, as well as playlists, audio visualizations, slide shows, third-party plugins, and even weather reporting. What makes it so ubiquitous is its ability to work with plug-ins that tack on major features like television program guides and access to YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix, along with a plethora of other popular streaming services. On Android, it also enables the ability to playback H.264 and DC1 media files.

XBMC had started out as a media center application for the first-generation Xbox (hence the name, which used to stand for "Xbox Media Center"). As the popularity of set-top boxes grew, however, it started to take off due to its open source and cross-platform nature. Services like the Plex Media Center and Boxee all utilize XBMC, as do a variety of smart TVs and even hotel television systems. The Android port of XBMC started with Cory Fields, one of the primary developers, who had been assigned the task for Pivos, a company that produces XBMC set-top boxes. "The idea was to capitalize on that without having to install Linux... just to be able to ship a box and have XBMC be a loadable application," he told Ars. "We did that port and it turned out to be a general purpose thing that works everywhere."

The fact that it runs capably on Android is quite a feat, but the team at XBMC is most excited about how it can further evolve. Essentially, if it can run on any Android tablet or handset, then it can work everywhere that the operating system works. "There is no jailbreaking required and no hacking. It's a very much out-of-the-box experience, which is something we've never had," explained Fields.

So, what is the target audience XBMC on Android? Is it for Android tinkerers or the average consumer looking for a worthy app for media streaming? Nathan Betzen, a project and community manager on XBMC, noted that it's common to see someone watching a video on their 5-inch smartphone tablet, so "the two use cases appear to be any reasonably sized phone or tablet, plus all the many small form-factor ARM boxes." Fields added that there's the eventual goal of running XBMC on TVs, too. "It's easier to ask '[what] won't it run on?'" he joked.

However, getting XBMC onto those Android-capable devices is not without its hurdles. For instance, the app is still very sluggish on Android devices—even on LG's Optimus G, with its quad-core processor and Adreno 320 GPU. XBMC couldn't manage to get through the latest Die Hard trailer encoded in H.264 without some major stuttering. "Heavy stuttering is a separate hardware decoding issue," Fields elaborated. "XBMC can play video using the CPU with software or using purposely designed hardware decoders. Unfortunately, because of fragmentation, we have to work vendor by vendor to get hardware decoding working, so most handsets right now fall back on CPU software decoding, which results in stuttering."

In the meantime, the team will be working on the ability to bring features like Miracast mirroring to Android 4.2 devices, so users can stream content over the air to television sets that support the technology. The current beta also features built-in DVR features, though it currently just serves as a front end for vendors. The team plans on launching an actual version of the application in the Google Play Store as soon as they hit a final release. "My intention from the start was to get us up on the big screen because that's what we do well," said Fields. "We're not going to try to limit ourselves. If it turns out the manufacturers push Android out to the big screen, TVs, or set-top boxes, we'll go that way."

If you want to try out XBMC for yourself, you can side-load the APK file onto your Android phone by downloading it here. Just remember to go into the settings and enable your phone to load apps from unknown publishers, and keep in mind that the app might be a tad sluggish.

Florence Ion
Florence was a former Reviews Editor at Ars, with a focus on Android, gadgets, and essential gear. She received a degree in journalism from San Francisco State University and lives in the Bay Area.

48 Reader Comments

eh, I'll just stick to my Win7 HTPC with an HDMI cord running to my 50' LCD using VLC media player to play any format of my choice, and using my tablet for VLC media extender so I can change the content on the fly without having to constantly get up to play a new song/movie.

And I'll just stick to my Linux/Android/native XBMC (have one of each) HTPC with an HDMI cord running to my 50' Plasmas using XBMC to play any format of my choice, and using my remote, my tablet, or my phone so I can change the content on the fly without having to ever get up to play a new song/movie.

All using a stunning interface with a full library of info and fanart for my media. And using livetv plugins so that I can watch TV if I want to.

And since the new Raspberry Pi model Bs can run Android they make a nice $35 set top box. Or honestly you could just run it off Linux on one, I guess. Haven't even looked into that yet.

My Linux XBMC box cost me around 500$: silent PSU, no fans, passive cooled AMD E-350, massive driver issues, crappy hardware support from ATI on linux, yada, yada, yada ... Scrapped it, bought the 35$ Pi, 15$ for a not too fugly case, used my old Nexus S' charger as PSU (1A 5V), installed RaspBMC, works like magic. Ok, can be sluggish on interface when you got big collections. Plays 1080p MKV files without issues. If you don't need anything else than streaming, Pi should be more than enough.

I think you were ripped off.

My E-350 XBMC/Linux box cost me less than $170 - no fans, silent PSU, passively cooled everything. Took 30 minutes to assemble into the case and add RAM. I did use a 4 yr old 300GB HDD, but everything else was new from Newegg, picoPUS or the local microcenter. It actually came with a jet-engine loud PSU that was replaced. The box handles everything except Netflix and Silverslight. Hulu works great as do many other web-based media playback sites, just with a little organization front-end that means looking for NBC, ABC, WB, CBS, and other network content is trivial, not different for each provider. All old codec SD plays perfectly - even stuff from the 1990s recardless of codec (wmv, mpeg2, avi, divx, xvid, mpeg1, h.264, rm, and many others. No issues at all with HiDef mpeg2 playback either. ZERO stuttering. Of course, h.264 inside either MKV or MP4 containers at any common resolution plays back perfectly with the ATI GPU drivers. There's a link to a how-to guide for this hardware on the XBMC forums, step-by-step. Not hard at all, but probably beyond the normal "Windows user" capabilities.

There's an alpha TV recording module too. R-pi won't do that. Not enought CPU. If you are paying $8/month (or more) for a DVR, doing a little math (24 months * $8 ... $196) shows how long before the payback begins building it yourself. CableCARD or OTA recording isn't hard anymore with the network tuners available.

The Rpi is impressive when you have complete control over the codecs. When you do not, a general purpose computer with a little extra CPU headroom makes a huge difference. The Rpi has hardware support for both mpeg2 and h.264 playback for a few extra $$, but it still feels like a "kit" without the PSU or case included.

I've been running the Android XBMC on a Tegra-2 tablet for a few months. It isn't ready for grandma to use, it crashes from time to time. Just installed a new 1204 APK last night. It is a little picky during playback and has locked up a few times. Still, the SD content in xvid/avi containers was handled perfectly streaming over wifi-G. Connect the tablet to an HDTV over hdmi and you are ready for dual-purpose use while on travel. I'll probably just use it for vacation photo slide shows. In theory, remote control over the network should work too - haven't tried that, since we normally use the tablet as a remote control for the main XBMC computer. A tablet is becoming the replacement desktop for me and many others. Just setup a VPN connection and use NX, RDP or VNC back to your "work/productivity" desktop located in a "private cloud."

Android has brought many new capabilities to the masses. It will only get better. I just wish all that java crap would be replaced by something more useful, efficient, and easier.

It really is a shame that the ATV3 hasn't been jailbroken. The ATV2 is nearly perfect for xbmc. All it needed was a bit more horsepower in order to run the GUI more responsively. Well that and it couldn't keep up with playing uncompressed ATSC streams recorded from broadcast television. Otherwise it worked great. 1080p mkv with DTS or DD sound? No problem.

At this point I am doubtful that the ATV3 will ever be jailbroken and am researching alternatives such as an andriod powered box. One essential criteria is that the hardware must sell in high enough volume that xbmc will be aggressively supported. Open source projects need a stable and popular hardware platform to make their efforts worthwhile.